Compared to circuits formed by discrete components, integrated circuits (IC) provide a more intense computational power while occupying less space. ICs, therefore, have become computational nerve centers of various electronic and computing devices. For example, integrated circuits form central processing units of computers, digital signal processing circuits in smartphones, and controllers in electromechanical devices. With the rapid proliferation of system on a chip devices in the past several years, ICs have been even more prevalent in various devices.
ICs have incredibly complex micro-structures containing millions, if not billions, of transistors. Because of this sheer complexity of the ICs, it takes several technical stages and several entities to manufacture a fabricated IC. To follow the typical IC processes, an IC begins as a hardware description language code. The code, after undergoing several iterations, may be compiled to form an IC design. The IC design's function may be simulated using a software simulator and its hardware behavior may be emulated using a hardware emulator. After the IC design passes the rule checks in the simulation and/or the emulation processes, an IC may be fabricated using the IC design. The IC may then be tested sending various test signals to the fabricated IC and observing the fabricated IC's response to the test signals. These complex and varied operations, often requiring varying degrees of specialization, are not performed by a single entity or hardware/software tools generated by a single entity. For example, IC design and simulation may be performed by a first entity using a software suite provided by a second entity. A third entity may fabricate the IC using tools manufactured by a fourth entity.
With these entities and the corresponding IC processes scattered throughout the globe, deliberate insertion of hardware vulnerabilities and the subsequent exploitation thereof have been exceedingly common. For example, a foreign foundry may add embedded circuits—not a part of the original design—to an IC and a malicious actor may use those embedded circuits to monitor or influence the behavior of the IC when it is in use. These so called hardware bugs are harder to detect than the software bugs.
Therefore, a significant improvement is desired for a secured tracking of these diverse IC processes performed diverse entities.